


"You Wanna Bet?"

by crappy_art_guru



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, M/M, no pennywise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-09
Updated: 2018-11-09
Packaged: 2019-08-21 03:46:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16569032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crappy_art_guru/pseuds/crappy_art_guru
Summary: Richie and Eddie go ice skating and start a bet on if Richie can skate or not.





	"You Wanna Bet?"

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this really quickly and didn't edit it very much, so if you see typos, feel free to let me know, thanks! <3 (also, sorry if it's bad haha)

There is a small lake a few miles outside of Derry that freezes over every winter. The ice is cleared of snow, and people go ice skating. It is somewhat of a Derry-wide tradition. Last year, however, the ice was not cleared because of all of the children going missing. No one felt much like skating. 

This year, though, the ice has been cleared and everyone had been enjoying skating around the frozen lake. Everyone except for Richie Tozier, that is. 

Richie had been saving up for a new pair of skates since he grew out of his last ones. He's been picking up shifts at the movie theatre at which he works. Finally, after aborting his decision to save up many times in favour of taking Eddie out to dinners, Richie had enough money, and he bought his skates. 

Now, the skates are in the back of Richie's car, beside Eddie's skates. 

"You know I'm looking forward to this, Eds, but why are we going skating at midnight?" Richie asks without taking his eyes off the road. There is no way he's looking away for even a second; there are a bunch of animals out there that could do a lot of damage, and Richie isn't even going to think about all of the stupid drivers out there too. 

"Don't call me that," Eddie snaps. His voice softens. "We are going at midnight so that there will be no one else there."

"You sly dog," Richie replies. 

"I'm just worried that if there's anyone else there, they'll make fun of your inability to skate. I'm just trying to save your feelings." Eddie counters. 

"Inabil- Excuse me?" Richie says loudly. "Inability to skate? I can skate just fine, thank you very much! Actually, better than fine, if I do say so myself."

"You wanna bet?" Eddie crosses his arms over his chest, jacket making crinkling noises, and looks over at Richie. 

"No, because you will lose and I will not take my boyfriend's money," Richie says as he turns off the highway. 

"Twenty bucks."

"You're on."

\---

When the boys get to the lake, they see that Eddie was right, there is no one there. They sit on a bench by the edge of the lake to tie their skates. 

"Remember to tie them tight," Eddie says as he ties his skates. Richie watches the movements of Eddie's fingers as he pulls the laces even tighter. 

"Alright, mom." Richie rolls his eyes. 

"Do you want me to tie them for you, Richie?"

"I know how to tie skates." Richie pauses. "Yes, please."

Eddie laughs softly and grabs Richie's foot to start tying his skate. 

"What? I can't help if you're the best at tying laces tightly," Richie says defensively as he crosses his arms in front of him. 

"Don't worry about it, Richie," Eddie says, laughing again. 

A few moments of silence pass in which Eddie works at tying Richie's skates, and Richie stares at the top of Eddie's down-turned head. 

"There you go. All done." Eddie drops Richie's foot and steps back. 

"Thanks, love." Richie reaches forward and wraps Eddie's scarf tighter. Both of their faces are flushed, though whether it's from the cold or each other, neither can tell. 

"Here. Put on your mittens and your hat since you won't wear a scarf." Eddie pulls matching baby blue mittens and a tuque with a pom-pom out of his pocket, and he holds them out to Richie, who takes them. 

"Why can't I wear earmuffs like you?" Richie pouts as he pulls on the hat. 

"Because I said so," Eddie says. "And I wanted to see you with the pom-pom." Eddie flicks the pom-pom and lets out a laugh at Richie's scowl. 

"Watch it, Kaspbrak." Richie frowns. 

"Or what?" Eddie continues laughing. 

"Or I'll push you in a snowball." Richie tries to sound serious, but a tiny smile betrays him. 

"You wouldn't."

"I wouldn't be so sure if I was you." Richie is full-out grinning now, and that plus the pom-pommed hat make it hard for Eddie to take him seriously. 

"You're an idiot, Richie," Eddie says, giggling. 

"Right. But I'm /your/ idiot." Richie pokes Eddie's cheek, and Eddie seats his hand away. 

Eddie sighs. 

"Sadly, you're right. No one else would take you," Eddie replies in mock disappointment. 

"Come on, Eds. That's rough." Richie presses both mittened hands to his chest. Eddie just around him and to the edge of the lake. 

"Don't call me that." Eddie steps onto the ice, and pushes off gracefully. He does a small lap. "You coming?"

Richie steps up to the ice. 

"Of course."

Richie steps into the ice and is immediately on his back. Eddie tries to strangle the laughter that is bubbling up his throat, to no avail. 

"Sorry, I shouldn't laugh," Eddie says, still laughing. "Are you alright, Richie?" Eddie skates over to Richie, holds out his hands, and helps him up. 

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." Richie waves Eddie away, and Eddie quiets, but he stays close. "I just haven't been skating in a couple years. I have to get used to it again."

Richie makes to move forwards, but he nearly slips before Eddie catches him, his hands gripping Richie's forearms. 

"Why don't you just hold on to me, Rich? We can skate together," Eddie suggests. 

"Yeah, alright." Richie moves his hand to be holding Eddie's. "Just for the beginning, though."

Eddie pushes off at a slow pace, with Richie wobbling along beside him. They do a lap around the cleared area on the frozen lake, clutching onto the other one's hand. 

"You're doing great," Eddie says encouragingly. 

"Hush."

"No, I mean it. You're doing really good, Richie." Eddie insists. 

"Thanks, Eddie," Richie says. 

Richie is slightly less wobbly and seems more confident after a couple of laps. 

"I think I can let go now," Richie states, but he doesn't release Eddie's hand, though his iron-tight grip does lessen a bit. 

They skate around the rink like that, able to let go, but not wanting to. 

\---

After a while, Eddie speaks. 

"My feet are freezing."

"Mine too," Richie replies. 

"Time to go home, then?" Eddie asks. 

"Okay."

They skate to the edge of the ice then walk towards the bench. They untie their skates and slip their boots back on. 

"This has been fun," Richie says, back in the car, while they're waiting for the heat to work. The clock says it's almost 2am. 

"Yeah. Thanks, Richie."

Richie hums in response. 

"Oh! I almost forgot." Richie stuffs his hand into his pocket and it emerges holding a 20 dollar bill. He holds it out to Eddie. "Here."

"What? Why?" Eddie stares at it, not taking it. 

"Um, because I couldn't skate. The bet." Richie clarifies. 

"Well, you can skate now." Eddie pushes Richie's hand away, 20 dollar bill and all. "I'm not taking your money."

"Now I feel like an ass for not following through," Richie says as he puts the money back in his pocket. 

"Why don't we go back to your place and discuss this over hot chocolate? I'm still freezing." Eddie holds his hands up to the vents, but they are still blowing cold air. 

"That is definitely something I can follow through on." Richie smiles. "And besides, I can think of some other ways to repay you." Richie winks at Eddie. 

"Richie," Eddie warns, his tone harsh. 

"What? I was thinking chocolate. You need to get your mind out of the gutter, Eddie." Richie smirks. 

"You're an idiot, Richie." Eddie rolls his eyes, but there's still a smile playing at his features. He leans forwards and connects their lips. His hand finds its way into Richie's hair which is tangled from the tuque that he took off as he got into the car, and even when they break apart, that hand doesn't drop. 

"Let's go make hot chocolate and cuddle in a fuzzy blanket." Richie's face is covered in a small smile and his cheeks are rosy. So are Eddie's. 

"Okay."


End file.
